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If your knees click when you stand up, this could be why

'Clicky' knees have been linked to an increased risk of osteoarthritis

By
Jenny Cook

05/05/2017

Michael Heim / EyeEmGetty Images

Do your knees click when you stand up? It could be an early warning sign of an incurable joint condition. A study of almost 3,500 Americans has shown there to be a clear link between noisy knees and the development of painful joints which, in some cases, can lead to osteoarthritis.

Scientists assessed the participants – who's age averaged out at 61 – for knee pain and took leg x-rays. The sample group was also asked whether they experienced grinding, clicking or any other type of noise when moving their right knee.

Those with no warning signs in their X-rays, but who experienced noisy knees, had a higher risk of suffering from osteoarthritis four years afterwards. In comparison, those who did present x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis in addition to 'clicky' knees were more likely to start experiencing pain within a year.

Dr. Grace Lo, lead author of the Arthritis Care & Research study and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a statement that many people who have signs of osteoarthritis on x-rays do not necessarily complain of pain, 'and there are no known strategies for preventing the development of pain in this group of people.'

She added: 'This study suggests that if these people have noisy knees, they are at higher risk for developing pain within the next year compared with the people who do not have noisy knees. Future studies that target people who have x-ray signs of osteoarthritis, and who do not complain of pain but do report noisy knees, hold the promise of identifying interventions that can prevent knee pain.'

Osteoarthritis is the most common form or joint disease, affecting at least 8 million people in the UK.

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